Enter the Matrix

Seriously, if your a fan of the matrix and you love movie based games done well, then this is the game for you. Yes it is true, this is more for movie/matrix fans then it is for the hardcore gamer. I fall into the former category, I am not or ever will be a "hardcore" gamer. I am a movie fan more, and I did really enjoy the matrix movies, so being able to do bullet time in slow mo, dressed in some slick duds with sunglasses and visiting matrix 1 environments, evading agent smith clones, all the while watching a story made exclusively for the game that ties into the movie, its just a great experience and a fun one. You really do feel you are in the movie world of the matrix, the same creepy vibe you get in films is evident in the game, much more then the other matrix game "path of neo". I thought the graphics were exceptional and well done, even though other reviewers say it looks "rushed", think about it, the game had to tie into the release of the movie and if it at times looks like that, which is rare, it still doesn't look "bad". not at all. this was before xbox 360 graphics and such, so its commendable what they accomplished with this game. Its very interesting story and you can play as 2 characters, and each has different and unique abilities the other doesn't have. 2 different stories, alternate outcomes. its very cool, plain and simple. I've never before or since seen a movie based game done this well or had so much effort put into it.

I was ecstatic at the idea of a Matrix video game, but I avoided it after most reviews panned. I finally rented and, like everyone else, was disappointed. The game *cannot* stand apart from either The Matrix Reloaded or Final Flight Of The Osiris. The cut scenes read like the deleted scenes from the film, but without any of the connecting scenes from the movie or exposition explaining what's going on, the game has no coherent story or thru-line.

The game play was decent, but the graphics are far behind other games for GameCube, Playstation, or X-Box. The motion capture often left the animated cut scenes feeling stiff. Also, the lack of in-game displays and indicators made it difficult to differential friend from foe and figure out your next objective. The final stage where you pilot the hovercraft through the underground tunnels is the worst of all in terms of graphics and play control. The game ends without any sense of accomplishment or closure, so I was left feeling unsatisfied.

I held off on buying this game because I had heard so much about how it sucked that I wasn't about to drop 50 bucks for a bad game. I picked it up the other day because it has become one of those "Playstation 2 Greatest Hits" titles.

Really what it all gets down to is this: This game is fun to play. Above all else, that's the most important thing in any game. The controls, which so many complain about, were really easy to get used to. I really don't understand what everyone was complaining about. The sound was great, and I really enjoyed the added dimension the cut scenes gave to the films. The graphics were weak, I'll admit. But frankly, I'd rather play a fun game with a good story than a beautiful game with no story that bores me to tears. All in all, it's a good game and if you like the Matrix, get it.

An average game, as mentioned by other users, the game is not for gamers but movie fans. It is sort of a "Fill In" for many scenes in Matrix Reloaded, or Ghost's or Niaobi's perspective of things.

One can play as Ghost or Niaobi and the game starts with us stealing a tape from a post office. The game moves forward and we get to know what Niaobi's group was doing while Neo and others were trying to get to the key-maker.

When I say about an hour of extra footage, it is live action footage and not some animated one. The game-play is fairly easy and is only for occasional gamers but not for hard core gamers. Another good factor is the sound, which is top notch and the music.

Direction/Animation: Good.

Story/Screenplay: Good.

Acting: Average.

Music: Awesome.

A game for movie fans but not gamers.

Lets start by getting the negatives out of the way first.

1. The physics of the game are a little off in that the people don't react the solid objects correctly. Sometimes you will kill or incapacitate an enemy their body will be laying halfway inside a wall or laying flat as if they were on the ground but are actually laying on a one inch rail.

2. The sound in a few FMVs has some kind of echo problem that makes it hare to understand what the characters are saying.

3. Occasionally your character will perform a complex fighting move where they grapple with an enemy and knock them out except they don't pull off the first move correctly, i.e. getting a hold of the enemy, and they will perform the entire sequence of fight moves against thin air.

The first problem is understandable considering that MOST video games don't have accurate physics engines. The other two indicate that The Wachowski Brothers wanted it out in time for the release of Reloaded. The game came out 3/11/2003 and the film 3/15/2003.

Now for the good parts.

1. Other than these few problems the game is quite enjoyable and gives you a very in-depth look at the Matrix reality. Unlike most movie tie-in games this actually compliments the films rather than trying to imitate it or be a condensed version.

2. The game's plot line actually interweaves with the film Reloaded giving you a better understanding of the films complexities.

3. The use of focus power, or bullet time as it is also known, makes for some very impressive hand to hand and gun fighting. For those of you unfamiliar with the Matrix concept (if you don't know any thing about the films then why the heck are you reading about the game?) I will give you a prime example of bullet time so that you can understand the magnitude of being able to control this power.

Five minutes into the first Matrix film we see a woman dressed a black, leather biker's outfit with her hands on her head about to be cuffed from behind by a cop, there are three other's who all have guns trained on her as he approaches. Just as he touches her wrist she quickly spins around, breaks his right arm at the elbow and jams the palm of her hand into his face breaking his nose, all within one second. She then jumps 4 feet straight up into the air and time suddenly grinds to a halt. While time is frozen the camera view rotates 180º showing her poised like the Karate Kid ready to perform a crane kick. Time then resumes normal speed. She kicks the cop so hard that he goes flying backward about 10 to 15 feet into a second officer. She, defying the laws of physics, is not moved back at all by the force of her kick and simply lands back where she was. She quickly kicks the wooden chair she was sitting on into the face of a third officer, stunning him and shattering the chair. The fourth officer aims his gun at her and begins to fire. She runs up a wall along the corner of the room, again defying the laws of physics, and then runs back at the fourth officer ducking and weaving until she is in front of him. She then spins the both of them around until she is facing the third officer, now regaining his composure and taking aim, with the fourth officer behind her facing the same way and her hand controlling his gun. She fires a few rounds at the third officer, presumably killing him, and then whips her leg up kicking the fourth officer in the face over her own shoulder, incapacitating the last of her would be captors. This is what bullet time is about.

The game itself is sufficiently entertaining that if every thing about the matrix were stripped away from it and it were simply an action/adventure/fighting game with no connections to any other product it would still be a decent enough game to stand on it's own. The thing that makes this a good game is that it (like The Animatrix) is more like a compendium to the matrix than an entity unto it self.

All in all I would give this game a. 7.5/10 (10 being excellent, 0 being horrible and 5 being average).